Changes in Bangladesh

Bangladesh came to today's shape through a long history of political evolution. Bengal was probably the wealthiest part of the subcontinent up till the 16th century. The area's early history featured a succession of Indian empires, internal squabbling, and a tussle between Hinduism and Buddhism for dominance. All of this was just a prelude to the unstoppable tide of Islam which washed over northern India at the end of the 12th century. Mohammed Bakhtiar Khalzhi from Turkistan captured Bengal in 1199 with only 20 men. That was just the beginning. The journey of Bangladesh goes on. Today here I am going to state the changes I have experienced through my life. So it will be a comparison between the last of nineteenth century and the early of twentieth century. It might be a much smaller time limit for a country but still there has been a gigantic change in the life of Bangladeshi people and in Bangladesh. Cultural Change: 1. Earlier most people of Bangladesh used to watch BTV. There were no other channels available then. Now the scenario has changed people are attracted to some foreign channels. Which may not be bad, but some has become addicted to this channels like the Indian channels (serials, movie, songs etc). Also we are watching English movies, songs, serials also. So different cultural practice is going around the country so much in number. 2. Dresses of this country among youth have changed drastically now-a-days it is easy to found western dresses in young people. Foreign culture is introduced largely in this country. Short dresses are worn by women, boys are found in shorts and thus modernization in a western manner. . Celebration of days like Valentine’s Day, friendship day and many other occasions has been celebrated all over the country. People wearing different dress and exchanging gifts on this occasion. 4. Before the cultures we have for instant, ‘pohela boishakh’, ‘pohela falgun ‘ was celebrated in a usual manner but now it has become a greater event to rejoice. The celebration has covered the villages also. Language change: The British Empire ruled the Indian subcontinent for almost 200 years (from 1757–1947). During this colonial period, there are immense changes in the education and cultural sectors of the continent. The impact of the colonial rule also continued to be felt in the postcolonial period. During colonial rule, the changes had influenced immensely the indigenous people in particular. The changes, that took place in the culture and lifestyle of the indigenous groups of Bangladesh during the colonial period was mainly because of their conversion to the Christian religion and involvement in the urban workforce. But there is no doubt that changes in continues to take place in the language & culture of the indigenous people even the postcolonial era. The reasons behind these changes are mainly: destruction of the forests, unemployment, development of communication, interaction with the Bengalis for business purposes, educational expansion etc. It should be noted that, although much modification took place among the indigenous group of people, there was no involvement of the state. The only step has been taken that, a cultural institute was established to look after their language and culture. Regrettably, very little of their cultural life is to be seen in the mass media. In Bangladesh, although decision has been taken for the indigenous group of the people about five years back to allow them to obtain primary education in their own (mother) language; it is yet to take place in reality. The survivals of the indigenous language are now at stake because of the domineering influence of the state language, which is Bengali. Here, some examples of language and cultural changes are presented. 1. Most of the indigenous of Bangladesh had their own language and words. Now, in their everyday life they use 30-40% Bengali words (they also used few English words). 2. Shifting cultivation (Jum chas) was much related with indigenous life and culture of Chittagong Hill Tract (CHT). But in the year 1961 after building the kaptai dam (CHT), 70% of indigenous (CHT) bound to leave this special type of cultivation. As a result, changes have taken place in their folk culture, worship & festival, which were related with shifting cultivation. 3. One of the indigenous of the Bangladesh is called Chakma. They had their own language & script, named ‘Ojhapata’. Now this script is not used, instead they are habituated to Bengali script. Climate Change: As one of the countries most seriously affected by climate change and natural disasters, Bangladesh has been forced to be resourceful and resilient. Without outside help, however, the country of 160 million will not have the capacity to address climate-related environmental changes as their severity and frequency increase. The United States should augment its focus on adaptation measures when providing the South Asian nation with aid. The repercussions of global warming on Bangladesh are diverse and wide-reaching. The environmental changes that are occurring directly affect all aspects of society. Human health, food security, industry and energy security, infrastructure, and economic development are all threatened by climate change. According to the World Bank, 40 percent of foreign aid to Bangladesh is vulnerable to climate-related factors. In a country as densely populated as Bangladesh, even small-scale shifts in ecological systems have a profound humanitarian impact. As the effects of climate change continue to intensify, the potential for social, economic, and humanitarian disaster is rapidly increasing. One of the most serious impacts of climate change is on human migration. As sea levels rise and a vast proportion of Bangladesh becomes inundated, many will have no choice but to flee their homes. Bangladeshi â€Å"land squatters† have for decades settled on vulnerable islands of silt known as chars. already vulnerable during monsoons, this rootless population is sure to increase. With higher sea levels and stronger storms, the chars are quickly eroding under their inhabitants' feet. Farmers who can no longer cultivate their land, inhabitants of coastal areas that have been submerged in sea water, and other impoverished Bangladeshis who are forced to leave their homes to escape from climate change will become environmental refugees. They will spill over into Bangladesh's neighboring countries and may end up in the already crowded slums of cities like Calcutta, Delhi, and Mumbai. Political change: From the very beginning politics of Bangladesh is largely same. One government goes another comes but nothing changes the life of the poor people. The need of development is still a crying need. It has been 40 years but still we could not secure the daily need of food, clothing, shelter, education, medication for everyone. It has been a common promise from every political party that they will do it after winning the election but at the end of the day the result is still same. It’s a real shame for country like us. We have a great history like the liberation war. So it’s very sad for us that political character hasn’t changed yet. Eighteen or twenty years are not a big time. The original culture is still kept in our mind. It is obvious that country’s culture is changing. Culture is such thing that is to be compared with river, it has no end, and it goes on. Therefore we must try to keep our culture clean and must have respect for our culture. It is not build in a day. Cultural history of Bangladesh is very rich. To continue this culture it’s our duty to learn about it. It must be taught in school, what our culture is. At the end I want to say I love my country and have full respect for my culture.